Pretty Vanilla
by the-internet-loner
Summary: There wasn't much to say about Sapphire. She passed her peers in the halls of her school like a ghost, the only remnants of her ever being there was the soft scent of vanilla shampoo. WARNING: depression, self-hate
1. Chapter 1: Sapphire

There wasn't much to say about Sapphire. She was a quiet girl with a great knowledge of many things. Everyone liked her, but no one truly knew her. She passed her peers in the halls of her school like a ghost, the only remnants of her ever being there was the soft scent of vanilla shampoo. _I'm probably forgettable_ , she thought to herself, _and that's okay_. As she entered her English classroom, Sapphire felt that her thoughts were confirmed; here she was in the classroom with only a select few students, while the rest of her classmates were outside the room chatting with their… friends, something that Sapphire did not really have. She had "acquaintances", sure, but real, true friends? Not particularly.

This was acceptable to her. It wasn't exactly how she wanted it to be, but, to her, it was fine. Thinking about it made Sapphire feel lonely, so she pushed the feelings aside and sat down at her desk, laying out her note-taking supplies. The usual suspects were here; Peri was to the far left in the front, playing some kind of game on her phone, Dalan was in the middle of the room with his head buried in a book, and Celeste was in the very back, fidgeting with a pencil. Sapphire had no desire to talk to any of them, sensing that any conversation to be had with them would be extremely mundane. Instead, she waited for class to start forlornly.

Unexpectedly, a new face entered the room. This new person emanated confidence and strength as she walked up to the drowsy English teacher's desk. Sapphire looked at her with curiosity, wondering who she was.

"Hi, I'm Ruby.", she said with raspy voice. The teacher looked up at the new girl and greeted her, telling her that he was expecting her. He told her that there was a free seat she could sit in, pointing to the chair behind Sapphire. The girl named "Ruby" spun her head around in Sapphire's direction, which caused Sapphire to turn her gaze elsewhere. Ruby sauntered over to the desk and sat down with a sigh. Sapphire turned her head a bit to peek at Ruby. Ruby noticed this and gave Sapphire a grin.

"You have very pretty eyes.", She complimented Sapphire and added, "I'm Ruby."

Sapphire stared at Ruby for a moment, her eyes squinted slightly, and then hesitantly responded with, "Hello… I'm Sapphire."

Ruby leaned back in her chair and draped her arms around the back of her seat, replying, "That's a very pretty name." Ruby then face-palmed herself and stammered, "I mean, uh… Oh, man, I can't believe I used "very pretty" twice!" Sapphire began to giggle at Ruby's sudden shyness and tried to hide her laughter by gently covering her smile with her hand.

"Your diction isn't too broad, is it?", she jested.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head with her hand and said through nervous laughter, "I guess not."

Sapphire turned herself around, so that she faced Ruby and asked, "Are you a new student?"

Ruby shook her head and answered, "No, I just transffered to this class." She looked away for a moment and a fretful expression crossed her face. Sapphire decided it would be best to leave the topic, as it was clear to her that it was making Ruby uncomfortable… for whatever reason. Sapphire just nodded. "Anyways," Ruby continued, "I hope this class will be better."

Sapphire shrugged, "It's okay." She laughed lightly, "Pretty boring, to be honest." Ruby laughed with her, which caused Sapphire to feel hot in the face. _She's gorgeous_ , Sapphire thought. Suddenly, the bell rang inside, and probably outside, the classroom. A herd of bustling students corralled themselves into the class and took their seats, talking and laughing as they went. Sapphire shuffled herself back around so that she faced the front of the class and sat upright. _It's time to focus_ , she told herself. A thought suddenly entered her mind, _I wonder if Ruby thinks my hair is pretty, too_.


	2. Chapter 2: Nightmare

The day meandered by Ruby, like pictures flashing before her eyes. Like death. She felt like a corpse too, tired from a day of blankly staring at white boards and blank pieces of paper. She heard the voices of her teachers in her head telling her to get her grades up and to stop day dreaming. It stressed her out, all of it. It was dangerously soothing to just have her head in the clouds.

"Hi, Ruby."

Ruby looked up and saw Sapphire standing in front of her. She looked around for a moment and remembered where she was; She was sitting on a bench in front of the school parking lot, waiting for her ride.

Ruby smiled up at her and gave her a lazy, "Hey."

"Can I sit with you?" she asked. Ruby shrugged. Sapphire sat down on the bench and smoothed out her skirt. She said nothing for a moment and then inquired, "Who are you waiting for?"

Ruby sluggishly replied, "A friend." Then, added, turning toward Sapphire, "For a ride home."

"Oh." Sapphire said blankly. Another awkward silence ensued, until she questioned, "Do you have a car?" Ruby shook her head and Sapphire nodded in understanding.

Ruby sat up, turned her body toward Sapphire, and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Do _you_ have a car?"

Sapphire smiled and replied faintly, "I would if I had a license."

"You don't have a license?" Ruby inquired flabbergasted. Sapphire softly giggled.

"No…" She looked sheepishly at her feet, which were crossed over one another, "I'm… afraid."

"Why are you afraid?" Ruby questioned in puzzlement.

Sapphire sighed, "I don't know. All those car crashes, I guess." She looked up at Ruby, her eyes hesitantly looking into hers.

Ruby leaned back in her seat and scoffed, "If you drive safely, you'll be fine."

Sapphire turned her head away and mumbled, "I don't think it's that simple."

Ruby retorted dumbfounded, "But it is!" Sapphire let out a weak grumble, as if it were painful for to hear.

Ruby sighed, murmuring, "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that serious to you." Sapphire didn't react at all to this. Ruby stared at her wondering why she wasn't replying. She then put up her hands up and continued, "I just don't get why some people are afraid of cars. They're safe. They have airbags and there are all kinds of safety rules." Ruby peered at Sapphire to see if she was listening, but her head was instead bowed down, her hair sweeping down her face like a veil. Her hands were in her lap, clenched tight.

"Okay." she said in a controlled voice.

"Is something wrong?" Ruby asked uneasily.

"I just…" Sapphire finally said, "I get nervous about bad things happening and you…" She trailed off.

Ruby was concerned and scooted herself closer to Sapphire, "I what?"

Sapphire swiveled around to face Ruby, an dejected expression on her face, and blurted, "You made me feel silly!"

Ruby shook her head and explained, "I didn't mean to make you feel that way. Honest."

Sapphire nodded, "Okay."

Ruby lightly put her hand of Sapphire's shoulder, "I don't think you're silly at all. That's actually a very reasonable fear to have." Ruby chuckled, "More rational than a fear of clowns, I guess." Sapphire chuckled too.

"I already feel so… foolish about it and when you mocked me, I…" Sapphire paused and then apologized, "I-I'm sorry for getting worked up about it. It's really not a big deal."

Ruby laughed heartily, "That's not even close to getting "worked up"! I was just worried I hurt your feelings."

Sapphire looked down at her feet again, smiling, "Yeah…" Ruby felt a light blush spread across her face. _She's kinda wierd, but really sweet at the same time._

Ruby beamed at Sapphire and asked, "Do you want to get something to eat?"

Sapphire's head shot up to look at Ruby, an astonished look was on her face and questioned, "Really?"

Ruby lightheartedly snickered, "Why are you so suprised?"

Sapphire, still staring at Ruby, became flushed and shyly said, "I don't know…" and then gave Ruby a small smile, "I'd like to go, though."

Ruby stood up and put out her hand, "Then let's go."

Sapphire tentatively put out her hand, but then pulled it back and inquired, "What about your ride?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and scoffed, "I can text her later. She won't get out for a while." Sapphire put her hand in Ruby's and stood up. Ruby turned toward her and asked, "Do you have to call the person driving you home?"

Sapphire shook her head and explained, "I walk home. I live nearby."

"Well, good! Let's go." Ruby exclaimed. Sapphire giggled and they walked hand-in-hand off campus.


	3. Chapter 3: Thorns

Sapphire flung her bedroom door open and dashed through it, slamming it behind her. She had the most wonderful time with Ruby. It wa uncertain, sure, but fun, nonetheless. She threw her purse down on the floor and her phone on her bedside table. Sapphire crashed on her bed and stared up at her pink ceiling. She had liked it better when it was blue, but it always made her feel sadder, somehow. She chose to paint it over in pink because, from what she read on color meanings, pink was a happy and lighthearted color and had hoped it would make her feel that way too. It didn't.

Sapphire rolled over on her side, facing the window beside her bed. She sat up a bit and moved her draping, white curtains aside. The moonlight shone in, blanketing her dark room in a white sheen. She opened the window, letting in the cool, night breeze. It felt refreshing on Sapphire's skin, like satin or silk. She laid herself down again and faced toward the window, staring at the moon. It made her feel lonely, somehow. She thought about Ruby and wondered how she was feeling at this moment. _She's probably thinking what a waste of time it was to hang out with me… I don't blame her_ , Sapphire told herself solemnly, _I'm glad I had a chance to spend time with her… even if it was out of pity_.

Sapphire rolled over back on her back and thought about all of the things she said to Ruby that embarrassed her.

"I'm just always scared. No reason for it." she had said, "I know it's irrational, but I can't help it. I know it's ridiculous." Sapphire cringed at herself. _Why did I tell her that? I just met her!_

"I… um… actually go to a… uh… therapist to get over my fears… other stuff too, though." she had told Ruby.

Ruby had asked, "What "other stuff", if you don't mind me asking?" Sapphire had felt so honored that someone as lovely and cool as Ruby was interested in her, of all people, that she actually told Ruby her biggest secret.

"Well," Sapphire had said timidly, "I have depression. It's been going on for a while. It's not a big deal. A lot of people have it. I just have a chronic case of it." She had giggled nervously and looked at her feet. When she had looked up, Ruby had the oddest expression on her face. _She must've thought I was a total freak. I hate myself._ Sapphire started to feel tears in her eyes, which then glided down her face. She closed her eyes and whimpered. _I suck. I'm so awful_. The tears seemed to thrust themselves from her eyes and showed no signs of ceasing. Sapphire covered her eyes with her hands, wanting to force her tears back into her eyes. She sat up, hunching her back over. She sat there for a while, Sapphire couldn't tell how long, weeping into her shaking hands. She tried to stifle her sobs, which came out as squeaks, gasping for air.

When her tears lessened, she lifted her head up and stared at her pink ceiling, which was a mauve in the darkness. It made her think of Ruby. She toppled herself over back onto her bed. She felt awful. She couldn't understand how people could say that crying was a wondrous release; she felt no better and her self-diminishing thoughts came at her at a rate that was no less than before. To Sapphire, crying was a form of torture.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. She turned her head over to her bedside table and stared at it as it continued to chirp a cheery tune. Sapphire sat up with a sigh and grabbed it off the table. The screen shone brightly in the dimly lit room. It was a text. From Ruby. Sapphire felt herself smile weakly at the thing.

The text read: Hey sapphire! It's ruby. Just wanted to say i had great time with you today. See ya tomorrow

One last tear slid from Sapphire smiling face and fell onto the phone's screen, blurring the word "tomorrow".


End file.
